MANILA – The Philippine National Police (PNP) has entered into a memorandum of understanding with a financial institution to provide legal assistance to policemen facing charges for cases filed against them during the Duterte administration, PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said.
In a press briefing Thursday, Fajardo said the financial institution, which she did not name, has an agreement with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) that they would provide legal assistance to police officers
The PNP Legal Service is assisting police officers, she said, pointing out that the number of cases it has handled from Jan. 2017 to Dec. 2022 has reached 1,214, while the number of PNP personnel it represents in various legal forums is at 4,033.
“This are more than 4,000 police officers who have faced cases and were represented by the Legal Service. The PNP has an allocated legal assistance fund, but again, as we’ve said, we welcome this development. We have a MOA between the PNP and a financial institution that started this year, and the legal assistance was signed,” she said.
Fajardo said that under the MOA, once a police officer facing charges signifies an intention to avail of legal aid, members of the IBP would extend the necessary assistance.
She said the PNP also welcomes former president Rodrigo Duterte’s pledge to raise PHP1 million to assist policemen charged over their involvement in drug-related operations.
This, she added, would be a big help because based on the previous statements of PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil, 214 officers are facing 352 criminal cases from July 2016 to June 2022.
Fajardo said 1,286 officers were affected over the period, with 312 losing their lives and 974 getting injured.
“Noong nakaraang administrasyon, particularly from 2016 to 2022, ay marami tayong pulis na talagang humarap sa mga legal challenges. Maraming nakasuhan. Some of them were dismissed. In fact, some of them were convicted and eventually incarcerated sa ating mga detention facilities. At yan yung direction ngayon ng ating chief PNP, to provide legal assistance sa mga pulis natin (During the previous administration, particularly from 2016 to 2022, many police officers faced legal challenges. Many were charged, some of them were dismissed, some were convicted and eventually incarcerated in our detention facilities. That is the current direction of our PNP chief – to provide legal assistance to our police personnel),” she said.
Marbil earlier said that administrative cases were prevalent, with 195 officers dismissed over the six-year period, while 398 are facing dismissal for various reasons.
More than 20 of these individuals are currently in detention.(PNA)